They are playing the US & Ukraine. This was all phony to make it appear they are weakening. Prigozhin was so kindly and without penalty exiled to Belarus? Really? I suspect he will lead troops from Belarus straight to Kiev and finish this war quickly.
I’m sure we have plenty of folks at the DoD pondering the same thing. Just because they are Godless Marxists doesn’t mean they don’t have some smart people in the DoD. Brainwashed, yes.